Week in Sloth

The Week in Sloth

“The Gruffalo” (ABC Family 5 p.m.) Helena Bonham Carter, Tom Wilkinson and John Hurt voice this animated version of a well-known British children’s book about a wily mouse.

“Community” (NBC 7 p.m.) “Community” kicks off a night of Christmas-themed sitcoms in high style with a stop-motion-animated episode evoking the classic Rankin-Bass holiday specials of yesteryear.

The Santa Incident (Hallmark 6 p.m.) A family helps Santa Claus after the U.S. government shoots down his sleigh. ... Not so fast there. This guy is a foreign national. How do we know he’s not an agent for Al-Qaida?

The Wonder World of K. Gordon Murray (TCM 12 a.m.) K. Gordon Murray was a god among film producers. The guy basically spent the ’50 and ’60s importing weird kids’ films from Mexico and parts of Europe (1959’s Santa Claus, 1957’s The Robot vs. The Aztec Mummy). He dubbed them, often shot additional footage and unleashed them on the unsuspecting children of America, resulting in decades of preschool nightmares. The man was a genius. This new documentary gives him his proper due.

Saturday 11

“Spike Video Game Awards” (Spike TV 6 p.m.) Best Performance by a Human Female? Felicia Day as Veronica in Fallout: New Vegas.

Ice Quake (Syfy 7 p.m.) Close but no cigar. Listen up, programmers. Here’s my pitch for a Syfy Channel Original Movie. Gigantic sinkholes plague a city during a freak snowstorm. I call it Ice Holes. Send me the money and Mario Lopez and I’ll get on it right away.

Sunday 12

Christmas Cupid (ABC Family 6 p.m.) The ghost of a famous starlet visits an overworked Hollywood publicist to help with her love life. ... Jeez, I hope I have better things to do with my time when I’m dead.